Putting An End To Polio

(NAPSI)—Here’s good news about health: There has never been a
more opportune time to finish off polio, with new cases at an all-time low
and the wild poliovirus now confined to only a few pockets in Afghanistan, Nigeria
and Pakistan-and
you can be a part of the solution. In less than a generation, the number of
reported cases has fallen by 99 percent, mostly due to mass immunization
drives.

A child receives the oral polio vaccine. Credit: Jean-Marc Giboux

The problem, public health experts say, is a $700 million funding gap that
threatens to undermine all the progress achieved against the disease. If the
eradication effort stalls now, polio could rebound quickly, potentially
paralyzing 250,000 children a year. Unvaccinated children everywhere,
including those in countries now polio free, would be at greatly increased
risk.

In 1988, Rotary International joined with the World Health Organization,
UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to launch the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a worldwide effort to eradicate this
crippling childhood disease. To date, Rotary has contributed nearly $1.2
billion to the effort.

A new, innovative, interactive online campaign gives everyone a chance to
support the fight to end polio by joining Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bill
Gates, Jackie Chan, Amanda Peet and other world
figures and celebrities already participating in Rotary’s “This
Close” campaign (as in, “this close” to ending polio) to
raise awareness and support for polio eradication.

You simply upload a photo of yourself to www.endpolionow.org, to be edited into a constantly expanding promotional
spot-the “World’s Biggest Commercial.” You’ll get an
e-mail with a direct link to your image.

You can also buy “End Polio Now,” an album of songs performed
by Rotary polio ambassadors from the music industry, including polio
survivors Itzhak Perlman (classical violin),
Donovan (folk rock) and Staff Benda Bilili
(Congolese soukous).